Penmon Point is a place of extraordinary sounds, and this piece draws together its three main sonic elements:

Musica Mundana – The ceramic, roaring scintillation of the waves lifting and perturbing the steep banks of huge pebbles at Penmon is one of its most characteristic sounds. Together with this, the splintering of ice, the cries of birds and the acoustic ambience of the location provide Penmon Point's natural voice.

Musica Humana – Seriol's monastic settlements, founded in the 6th century, are long deserted, but the nearby Priory Church continues his tradition. A 7th century plainchant hymn associated with the season of Advent, Conditor Alme Siderum ('Creator of the Starry Skies'), in various guises and transformations, is the human voice of Penmon Point.

Musica Instrumentalis – The lighthouse, both visually and sonically, is a strikingly artificial presence in an otherwise untamed environment. The tolling of the lighthouse bell every thirty seconds similarly suggests the order and conceit typical of instrumental or 'machine' music. Thus this bell provides the overall structural organisation of the piece, both horizontally (it sounds every thirty seconds in the music itself) and vertically (its first eight partials form the pitch structure of the entire work).

All three musics are linked by their periodicity, the ebb and flow of the waves, rise and fall of the voices, and regular tolling of the bell creating a variety of rhythmic interactions.

© 2003 A P Lewis, University of Wales, Bangor. All Rights Reserved.